: GE stock falls after earnings, FCF beat expectations but outlook was downbeat

Shares of General Electric Co. GE fell 2.2% in premarket trading Friday, after the industrial conglomerate reported fourth-quarter profit, revenue and free cash flow (FCF) that beat expectations, but provided a downbeat earnings outlook. GE’s report was the last one before it started breaking up, with the completion of the GE HealthCare spinoff on Jan. 3. GE swung to net income of $2.13 billion, or $1.95 a share, from a loss of $3.90 billion, or $.355 a share, in the year-ago period. TK in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.24 beat the FactSet consensus of $1.15. Revenue grew 7.3% to $21.79 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $21.25 billion. Among GE business units, Aerospace revenue rose 25.7% to $9.68 billion, Power revenue increased 26.4% to $5.44 billion, Healthcare revenue slipped 0.4% to $5.28 billion and Renewable Energy revenue rose 3.7% to $5.03 billion, with all topping Wall Street expectations. FCF, which has been a closely watched financial metric for GE, of $4.3 billion topped the FactSet consensus of $3.98 billion. Looking ahead, the company expects 2023 continuing EPS of $1.60 to $2.00, below the FactSet consensus of $2.37. The stock has soared 39.4% over the past three months through Monday, while the Industrial Select Sector ETF XLI has rallied 11.4% and the S&P 500 SPX has climbed 5.9%.

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